Will marijuana sales undermine the family vibe at a ski area where pot has been openly consumed since the 1970s?

Staff Report

Keystone-area old-timers who are totally OK with the purchase and consumption of alcohol are trying to rally their neighbors to oppose a proposed retail marijuana store near the resort, claiming it would undermine Keystone’s family atmosphere.

A new study presents more evidence that illegal marijuana growers are speeding the demise of a rare forest critter in California. After studying hundreds of forest-dwelling fishers, researchers concluded that the annual rate of poisoning deaths rose 233 percent compared to a study in 2012.

“This study further solidifies the need for continuing to remediate and remove these threats to fishers and other species of conservation concern within our public lands,” said Dr. Mourad Gabriel, executive director of the Integral Ecology Research Center, lead author of the study published in PLOS One.

FRISCO — Federal officials took a small step toward giving state-authorized marijuana businesses some much-needed financial legitimacy, but the new guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice doesn’t go far enough, according to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

“Based on initial reactions in the banking community to the guidance that was issued today, it appears that the language does not provide the clarity that Colorado banks are seeking to provide basic banking services to the emerging marijuana industry,” Hickenlooper said in a statement. Continue reading “Feds ease banking restrictions on bud biz”→

FRISCO — A state task force charged with implementing Colorado’s Amendment 64, which legalizes personal consumption and cultivation of marijuana — will be working under a tight schedule, meeting weekly to develop recommendations that will be delivered to Gov. John Hickenlooper and the State Legislature no later than the end of February.

That will help set the stage for the next technical step in the process of regulating marijuana in a way similar to alcohol, with state agencies required to develop regulations for that process by July 1, according to Sean McAllister, a Breckenridge-based attorney and spokesman for Colorado NORML.

McAllister said the task force, representing an array of stakeholders ranging from local governments and health and safety officials to the state department of agriculture and medical marijuana providers, will meet weekly. Read the executive order establishing the task force here.

SUMMIT COUNTY — Federal enforcement actions in Colorado against individuals for possession of marijuana would be a bad idea, Democratic Congressman Jared Polis said Friday.

Along with 15 other Democratic congressmen, Polis sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and DEA chief Michele Leonhart, urging the federal government to take no action against anyone who acts in compliance with the laws of Colorado, Washington and any other states that choose to regulate access to marijuana. Continue reading “Colorado lawmakers ask feds to back off on marijuana”→

SUMMIT COUNTY — The Breckenridge Town Council will consider amending a marijuana ordinance to ban the inhaling of marijuana vapors in public. The work session discussion is scheduled for about 3:15 p.m. on May 11.

The ordinance was approved by voters in a ballot initiative, creating the perception that the town had legalized marijuana use. The proposed changes are aimed specifically at closing what’s described as a loophole by Police Chief Rick Holman in a memo to the council.

The Town currently has one business, Club 420, that allows people older than 21 to use vaporizing paraphernalia and consume personal cannabis on the premises after paying a membership fee. The club is not licensed as a medical marijuana dispensary. It does not sell marijuana or make any effort to differentiate between medical marijuana users or recreational users, according to Holman’s memo, which goes on to say that neighboring businesses in the Town Square Mall have complained and said they oppose this type of business.

The amendment would prohibit people from displaying, consuming cannabis in any place of business … open to the general public, even if admission requires the payment of a charge, admission fee, entry fee, membership fee, or other monetary charge of any kind.

The loophole that enabled the club to open was not part of the original intent of the marijuana ordinance passed by voters, the memo concludes.